This is a memorable film for many reasons. One, this is Rishi Kapoor’s last film. Second, in this the same character has been played by two actors. Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal-both played the role of a man named Brij Sharma in this film. Since the audience already knows that two big Bollywood actors are playing the same role in this, it does not come as a surprise to them and does not create any detriment in the taste of the film.
Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal play a character named Brij Sharma who tries to live his life in a new way after retiring from his job. He starts cooking food for some ladies’ kitty party. Although some people think that he started confectionery, Brij Sharma does it for his hobby and to keep his life active.
Both his sons do not like this work, so there are fights between the sons and the father. People keep making fun of Brij Sharma but he continues with his work. Juhi Chawla also plays an interesting role in it and the initial impression of the audience about her character gets reversed in the end. ‘Sharmaji Namkeen’ is the story of a simple urban middle class family and has a lot of humour.
There is more seriousness in the part of Rishi Kapoor and humor in the role of Paresh Rawal. The film is somewhat reminiscent of Amitabh Bachchan’s long ago ‘Baagwan’ in which a post-retirement father finds himself a misfit among his children. There is also a philosophy in ‘Sharmaji Namkeen’ and that is that life can be started in a new way at any age and no matter what the era says, one should stick to his thinking. It is not a very ambitious film but it has a perspective on life that creates positivity.